Spades and Salacious Things
by CrazyMuffin7
Summary: Kyouya and Tamaki have been close friends since middle school, but inner turmoil and secrets within the club may bring everything to a crashing halt. Rated T for now, but that may change in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

He's staring at me again.

Every day it's the same. I look up from my papers briefly during class only to find Tamaki's eyes already on me. He has this stupid indulgent smile on his lips, like I'm the best thing in the world to look at. _It's so obvious that he's interested in me. Can't he at least try to hide this indecency? God, it's only a matter of time before he comes out to me._ I give him a smile that I hope looks sweet and not at all forced. What an out of place expression on me, I imagine.

Finally the bell rings, saving me of this torture. On que, Tamaki approaches me, and we walk to music room three together. He's gushing about today's theme: Miami. Really, it's only an excuse to bare some skin. I even allowed Tamaki to splurge and rent a wave pool for the event. The club can afford luxury items every once in a while, since business has been excellent recently. The guests are convinced there is some kind of love triangle going on between the Hitachiin twins and Haruhi. As far as I can tell, they're all delusional, but I gave the three of them strict instructions to let the guests fantasize as much as they like.

"Oh, Kyouya, I'm going to look _fantastic_ in the swim trunks I picked out for today! You absolutely _must_ see them on me!"

Another smile that I hope looks genuine. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." _Narcissistic bastard._

Honestly, a good majority of the club is made up of narcissistic bastards. The twins are in love with each other, which just takes loving themselves to a more physical level. Tamaki considers himself to be God's gift to women. And then there's me. I don't consider myself a narcissist, but I do have a grandiose view of self. How could I not? I'm beautiful, intelligent, and rich. What's not to love?

Well, you know, discounting all of the ulterior motives and opportunistic traits, but I see those as tools to get what I want.

Tamaki grabs at my hand suddenly and tugs me down the hall. "Come on! We're walking so slow; I'm really excited about today!"

I let him drag me. Who cares if I'm seen holding hands with Tamaki Suoh, son of the headmaster, heir to the Suoh estate? The worst that can happen is that someone might develop a flimsy rumor that will only fuel business for the Host Club. Homosexual, heterosexual, I don't associate myself with either. I'll be whatever it takes to get what I want.

We open the door to music room three, and Tamaki releases my hand. The twins are already here, looking over some book. "Why aren't you in your suits yet?! The guests will be here any minute; hurry up!"

The one that isn't holding the book waves a dismissive hand in our direction. "Yeah, yeah, in a minute. Don't get your panties in a twist."

Tamaki continues to fume, and Haruhi walks in the door. She surveys the room expressionlessly before saying, "A wave pool. How did you even _fit_ a wave pool in here? And fake sand. God. You know, this is just a stupid excuse to bare some skin and act like the spoiled brats you are."

A little half smile twists my lips up, and this time I don't fake it. Haruhi _is_ charming, in a simple-minded kind of way. "We left all the thinking up to the workers who delivered it," I reply curtly. She looks up at me briefly before turning her attention to Tamaki. "I suggest you change, unless you want him to direct a psychotic rampage at you as well."

She sighs and approaches Tamaki, telling him to calm down. Always the peacemaker. I decide I should probably change as well, but before I can make it to the dressing room, Tamaki is calling my name and bounding up to me. We walk to the changing room together. After I step out from behind the curtain, he makes no effort to hide that he's oggling me.

"You look so _cute!"_ he gushes. "Tell me, do you think the color of these shorts compliment my skin tone? Because I think they kind of wash me out in this lighting."

I couldn't care less about his swim trunks. "Of course not, Tamaki. You look good in anything."

"Really?" He's looking up at my face now, searching my eyes as if he can find some kind of conformation there.

"Definitely. The girls will eat you up." Flattery isn't a tactic I use often, but it's fine every once in awhile. I watch his reaction closely. He looks a little surprised at first, then an expression I can't quite name crosses his face. His eyes are downcast, and I notice a slight blush tinging his cheeks. He almost looks pained.

"Right. The girls."

I have to resist smirking. This reaction absolutely confirm my suspicions about his sexual orientation. He feels uncomfortable about girls, that much is clear. Filling in all the gaps isn't really my specialty, but I can tell he's attracted to me. He may even be infatuated with me.

Having someone infatuated with you is beneficial for many reasons. They'll do practically anything for you. Of course, even when Tamaki considered me as just a friend, it was fairly easy to bend his will. Infatuation is powerful because people can justify doing the most extreme things in the name of love. I will definitely take advantage of that fact if it ever suits my needs.

"Kyouya, I need to tell you something..."

Excellent. I quirk an eyebrow as if I'm curious. "Oh? What's troubling you?"

"It's a secret so... so you have to promise not to tell." Tamaki's voice raises a bit with the second half of the sentence.

He's finally going to come out of the closet. This is so perfect. "Of course. Any secret of yours is safe with me." I give him a reassuring smile.

"Well, I..." He looks down at our bare feet, and I wonder if he's going to chicken out. "I think I might have a tiny crush... on Haruhi."

Dammit. And I had been so sure... "Oh. Do you really?"

He nods, blushing. "I... What should I do, Kyouya? Do you think she likes me back?"

_I don't know,_ and _I don't care_ are the first responses that come to mind. "Sure she does," I say. "She tolerates you, so that has to count for something."

Tamaki smiles up at me shyly. "Thanks, Kyouya. You always know just what to say."

Unfortunately, some girls requested me at the club, so I ended up actually having to entertain rather than stand in a corner and jot down notes. They weren't terribly annoying, but much too average to be interesting. Tamaki caught my eye a few times, and we shared little glances. He must be in denial. That's the only explanation. I'm really not sure what I would have to gain from him coming out to me yet. I suppose I'll just keep him as a pawn for now and find benefits along the way. There must be some. I just have to look more closely.

"Hey, Kyouya, I was thinking... Do you want to come over to my house this Saturday, just the two of us? We could watch a movie, or..."

"That sounds great. And perhaps we could think of a way to win Haruhi over."

"Yeah, that's... probably for the best." Tamaki gives me a small grin. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Kyouya!" He waves at me before exiting the music room. We have our differences, but I do like him. He's loyal, for one thing. And he's certainly not ugly, but I don't find myself particularly attracted to him. It's more on a physical level than anything. Female anatomy is just so appealing.


	2. Chapter 2

His gaze is getting on my nerves in the worst way. I can't tell if he's dressed skimpily to attract my attention, or if he thinks short-shorts are appropriate because he has nice legs. All through the movie, he would rest his head on my shoulder, put a hand on my knee. Once he even commented on my heartbeat after putting an ear to my chest. Does he have no boundaries? It wouldn't really bother me if I could come up with an appropriate way to react. I don't want to seem blatantly homosexual, but I don't want to push him away, either. He is my friend, after all.

"Kyouya, can I ask you something kind of personal?" Tamaki asks. His head rests on my shoulder now. I humor him and lean mine back against his.

"You're my best friend, Tamaki. You can ask me anything."

"Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"...Yeah, I've kissed a few girls," I admit.

He sits up to look at me. "Really? Who?"

"No one you know. Just some girls I met at my father's dinner parties."

"Oh." Tamaki thinks about that for a second, tracing patterns over the leather couch with his fingers. He looks back up at me questioningly. "But... you didn't even really _like_ them? Like, you didn't really know any of them?"

"I did like them, but your definition of 'like' is probably less shallow than mine. Besides, it's not as if kissing someone means that you want a relationship with them or anything."

"For me it does. I want my first kiss to mean something." Tamaki shifts his eyes away from me with a far off look. Such a hopeless romantic, and innocent, too. He's the sweet kind of guy, the guy that will get his fragile heart broken early on in life. I worry for him. "How can you just give something like that away without a second thought?" His tone is almost accusatory.

"Tamaki, relax. It was just a hook up. You take kisses more seriously than losing your virginity."

His cheeks redden a bit. "That's not true," he grumbles. There's a lull in conversation that's filled by the dull sound of actors on the movie. "So how far have you gone, then?"

It takes me a moment to realize what he had asked me. "...Second base."

A short pause. "Can you explain bases to me?" I do, and although I don't go into great detail, Tamaki turns pink again. "Where did you learn all of this stuff, anyway?"

I shrug. "Most of it comes naturally. Some things I learned from television and the Internet." We usually don't talk about this kind of thing. It doesn't bother me, but Tamaki gets embarrassed so easily.

"Like- like porn?" He shifts uncomfortably, staring down at his bare thighs. For a second I wonder if I should really answer that, but before I can, Tamaki says, "Sorry, that's too personal, isn't it? I shouldn't have asked."

"It's not that. I have seen porn before, but, you know, it's not the most informative thing, so I usually just research something if I get curious about it." It'd be weird to talk to my parents about sex. I could ask my sister, I guess, but that'd be pretty awkward, too. Besides, the Internet can be an excellent resource if used correctly. "You know, if you ever want to know anything... don't be afraid to ask me."

He looks at me quizzically before saying, "You want me to ask you sex questions?"

"Well, I mean, it's awkward, talking to adults, and once you start asking things like that, they'll wonder if you're having sex and bombard you with questions and force all of that 'wait until marriage' bullshit down your throat. I'm not saying you have to or anything, just feel free."

Tamaki gives me a little half-smile. "Thanks. I'm really lucky to have such a thoughtful person to call my best friend." He opens his mouth to say something else, but closes it again hesitantly. "...I love you." His smile is shy, but there's a certain light-hearted affection in his eyes.

I know I shouldn't be so surprised. Tamaki says he loves me on occasion, and I guess it's normal to love close friends, but it still feels weird to say it aloud. Love is a hard concept for me to grasp. For most people, (I think) it's a feeling, but for me, it's more like something I just know. I love my parents because I owe it to them. I love my brothers in a very similar way. The kind of love I feel for my sister is something closer to a friendship, but not quite. Tamaki, though... He's my closest friend, the person I share the strongest bond with. I would almost dare to say that that bond is stronger than blood ties. It's very intimate, but not in a romantic way.

I can't say I've ever experienced anything that crossed that threshold of platonic love, but I'd like to explore (or exploit) that feeling someday. Maybe with Tamaki, maybe with someone else. It doesn't matter much. I don't think it makes a difference if the person you feel that for is the same gender as you are or not. On a sexual level it might matter some, but I can't see our relationship ever becoming sexual.

"I love you, too." We never say "no homo" or anything after something like that. It'd be redundant, since we both know where we stand with this relationship. Tamaki squirms against me in an attempt to get comfortable again. I feel his knee brush against mine briefly as he folds his legs beneath himself. I wrap an arm around his shoulders, drawing him closer to me. Fortunately, he seems to be pleased with the gesture and nuzzles against my collarbone.

Do most friends cuddle like this? For some reason it feels like he's flirting with me, but I can't really say why. Maybe Tamaki is just overly affectionate, but, then again, I can't deny that I like being close to him like this, even if it makes me question the normalcy of our relationship.

"Liking Haruhi is really complicated, isn't it?" Tamaki says, changing the topic suddenly. "We could never be public... unless maybe we could let her off her debt?" He gives me a hopeful smile.

"Absolutely not." Tamaki looks up at me through his eyelashes with puppy dog eyes and pouty lips. _"No. _Besides, what's wrong with dating her as a boy? I'm sure Haruhi wouldn't care. Are you really that concerned with how people perceive you?"

"Yes. I wouldn't be able to stand all the stares and whispers we would get." He shudders, and I consider letting the subject drop. But maybe a little reassurance is all he needs...

"I wouldn't treat you differently if you were gay," I tell him. "And if you wanted, I'd keep it a secret. I'm sure the rest of the club would feel the same way. That's what we founded it on, right? Acceptance? Loving people no matter what kind of weird fetishes they have?"

Tamaki chuckles half-heartedly. "Thanks, Kyo." He's smiling, but there's a certain kind of sadness at the edge of that smile, in the corners of his eyes, that gives away how he's truly feeling. A rush of empathy overcomes me, suffocatingly, and I push the feeling away. We sit in comfortable silence for awhile, watching the movie. "Do you think those rumors about Haruhi and Hikaru are true?"

"Probably not. The twins have a codependency issue. One can't exist without having the other's full attention. If there is something going on between Haruhi and Hikaru, I can't imagine the twins being on speaking terms."

"You're so smart, Kyouya. I wish I could read people like you do." I can never tell if he's flattering me, or if he means it. Either way, it strokes my ego.

After about ten minutes of silence, I glance down at Tamaki. His eyes are closed, and his breathing has become deeper, but when I ask if he's asleep he murmurs that he's just resting his eyes. After much coaxing, I convince him to get ready for bed.


End file.
